Critics Review/Rating

Times Of India (TOI):

Courage does not always roar. Sometimes courage is the quiet voice at the end of the day saying, I will try again tomorrow. And the film’s protagonist Gour Hari Das (Vinay Pathak, commendable) embodies this spirit. Read full review...

Mid-Day:

During one of his umpteen visits to the government office, the clerk asks him where he is from. “Orissa”, he says, and the staffer wonders, “Is Orissa a part of Bengal?” He can’t locate the state on the map hanging from the office wall. Read full review...

Hindustan Times (HT):

It’s a story we’ve heard of so many times in the past: An ageing freedom fighter running from pillar to post, waging his own battle against bureaucratic red tape, trying to prove that he participated in the freedom struggle. Read full review...

NDTV Movies:

Gour Hari Dastaan – The Freedom File is the kind of film that one would have gladly fallen in love with had it been more engaging. Count the film’s inherent strengths: its story is drawn from real life, its protagonist is a unique figure on a remarkable quest. Read full review...

CNN IBN:

Also in the cinemas this week, Gour Hari Dastaan based on the deeply affecting true-life story of a middle-aged man and his struggle over 32 years to be officially recognized for his contribution to the freedom movement. Read full review...

The Indian Express:

A man’s struggle for identity can be an absorbing story. Uplifting even, if it is connected with a country’s freedom struggle. Gour Hari’s ‘dastaan’, based on the quest of a real-life character, has all the elements that could have made it all this and more, but it comes off flat and dull. Read full review...

Glamsham:

When the director is also the writer, it’s easier to translate subjects (read characters) and emotions on screen. However, when it is a subject which is close to another person (read writer) and another is giving life to the characters nestled between the pages, things can go awry. Read full review...